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Unless they are relatively shorted priced horses (I very rarely back anything odds on), I tend to bet only in singles. I put them on 1st thing, then either go into the bookies to watch or if I am feeling unsociable will sit at home and watch them. I tend to bet either £10 bets (£5 e/w) or £20 (£10 e/w) and stick to same stakes for all the horses that day, though if I really like something will go in again if there is still value. But I don’t take me slips in with me and very rarely go into the bookies of an afternoon with too much cash so my losses on any given day are controlled.
My grandad, who I get my love of racing and gambling also only backs them in the morning (unless he gets a late tip) but he will put all his singles on a slip in order of what he sees as their chances but writes stop at winner on the slip. And even if he’s picked 3 or 4 winners after the 1st one has gone in, he reckons he’s gained more doing it this way than letting them all roll.
I rarely bet online, though have been known to lay the odd short priced jolly, and am not a great backer of horses antepost, though will have the odd £5 or £10 on a few, usually from winnings collected if I’ve had a good day.
So how do you all back them.I bet mainly win singles. Rarely do I back at below 5/4 but it can happen from time to time. Again rarely do I bet Ante Post but again it happens occasionally.
If there is more than one bet for me on any given day I often double up or treble up etc. Its important to give yourself the chance of the odd really big win that can make so much difference.
I have had two bets for Cheltenham, I expect to have only one more. If either wins I will make a profit but I will also treble them up and if they all win then lets just say I’ll be in an extremely good mood. I don’t expect all to win but its important to give yourself the opportunity to hit your own personal jackpot. Its possible to do so without seriously harming your in / out column if you do it properly and cover yourself accordingly.
Bet online mostly or over the phone. Couldn’t think of anywhere I’d rather be less than a betting shop – if I do go in to watch a race (much less frequently than I used to) or have to place a bet in shop as can’t get on over the phone or internet then it’s a case of in and out as quick as possible.
They weren’t nice a few years ago and tbh it’s never likely to improve though I’m sure there are some good ones (VC’s Mayfair shop i hear is a nice shop) most are chock full of old chaps and teens doing their money day in and day out.
I back over the phone or online – my bets tend to be an amount greater than I would generally carry in cash, and also I don’t like it when you put a bet on at the bookmakers, they notice it as it’s a big liability than their average, you stay and watch the race, it loses and then you have to do ‘the walk of shame’ – try to walk casually out of the shop like the objective, calculating semi-pro gambler that you are, when you’re compulsion is to scream and start (mildly) self-harming.
I can’t remember the last time that I backed a horse over 3/1. I tend to back ‘value’ short-priced favourites. I know some believe that you can’t make money backing favourites, particularly at odds-on (without Harry Findley-like funds) but I think you can, most often if you back before the race and the influx of money on Betfair, i.e., getting 4/5 about Eighteenfifty, which won at 1/3 yesterday.
There are a lot of value short-priced favourites in ‘big races’ too, more than ever, and I think it’s due to the democratization of opinion, layers on Betfair going down blind-alleys and others following them, layers getting a vague feeling of ‘something’s not right’ because some other layers are laying their horse and they don’t trust their own opinion, behaviour economics. As an example, why was New Approach @ 6/4 in the morning to win his last race, against a poor field, when his real odds were surely in the region of 1/2? because that Bolgers a bit untrustworthy? the horse can be a bit wacky? Some vague feeling from the two? It was nothing to do with its form.
I honestly cannot remember the last time I went into a betting shop.
As for my betting – I never bet more than I can afford to lose.
I honestly cannot remember the last time I went into a betting shop.
As for my betting – I never bet more than I can afford to lose.
‘If you cannot afford to bet,
Then you cannot affordnot
to bet’
I only bet on NH racing. I put a reasonable amount of money into my online betting account at the start of the season and bet from there. I tend to stick of known horses in big races. My wagers are mainly singles with the odd EW bet too. I also like to keep a record of every bet I do so I can see exactly where I’ve won or lost.
The one exception to the above is the Cheltenham festival. I’ll start with a betting budget I’ve set aside specifically for the festival. However, I’ll bet in every race, single selection (£30 single or £15 ew). The big race of each day (CH, QMCC, WH, GC) is where I’ll bet more than my standard festival stake.
MWRA’s method is not disimilar to mine – though I will bet odds on.
I never bet beyond my current means and if and when the sticky patches come along (and they do ), I take time out… and then start again.
Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning
99% of my betting is on Betfair. I do my own ratings for each race and back the top 2,3,4, or 5 rated runners depending on number of runners. I bet on every UK race, every day, operating a high turnover low profit margin model.
I like to do form for Pattern and Listed flat racing when I get the time because I think the formbook can be relied upon in these races although its more of a fun thing betting wise.
I do the very odd ante post bet when value sticks out. Backing KS and NC for the Gold Cup after news of Denmans heart scare last year was an obvious one.
I adopt a similar approach to Cavalino, with a reduction on his amount of action. I stick to jump racing, Class 1 and 2 races, plus the better Class 3 handicaps, along with my own specialisation in Handicap Chases in the north. This gives me the odd race midweek outside the festivals, with most action coming at weekends.
I work out a 70% book for the race and bet on a selected group of horses about which I can get my lowest acceptable price or better. Betfair gives me a means of taking a ‘value price’ or, if not yet available, asking for a price to be matched.
It’s a comparatively high turnover approach, though there will be many here who use much bigger stakes than me, aiming a 15-20% profit. I work from a start bank every season, and keep all betting money in a separate bank account.
If the favourites come out on top on the day I’ve probably lost, if the favourited get beaten there is a fair chance I’ve come out on top.
This approach suits me, though I can understand it would drive some round the twist.
It took me 30 years of betting before I got to a point of winning consistently.
Rob
I have a few different systems on the go at any one time. At the moment I’m running a longshot system on Irish handicap races where 80% of the betting is on Betfair in the 5 minutes before a race, the other 20% at any standout morning prices with the online bookies. I bet ante post a lot and will be going into overdrive when the NRNB concession comes in for the Festival- that’s all bookie betting. I do the scoop 6 and Jackpot when they look value (6-8 times a year), and bet on most races at the big festivals on the day as well as ante post.
the only reason I visit a bookies is if I can’t get on online- which is happening a bit more in the last few years- I can’t get a meaningful bet on with Ladbrokes (my opinion must be worth a bit!) Boyles, Bruce, and all the fiddlers like Skybet, Stan James etc.
Overall I’d say I was 50-50 traditional/Betfair and it’s all win singles bar the pool bets.I would consider myself a casual bettor
I rarely bet on races below class2 (Flat & NH) and I bet 1pt win or 1pt each-way depending on prices
I try to grade my bets and tend to keeep the large ones for better races and better horses. Those who consistantly win or those who have been touted around as something special before their first run like Diamond Harry, Hurricane Fly, Mad Max, Zaynar etc. I’m happy to take short prices as you get nothing for nothing in this world,but I seldom back south of 4/6. Stakes are high but risks are lower and occassionally you get great value like 6/4 KS in the King George, Binocular evens at Ascot. or Hurricane Fly evens at Leaperdstown.
I believe an even money shot in the class of say Hurrican Fly has a lot less chance of defeat than a novice hurdler at Plumpton e.g. racing against unknown quantaties. I also believe, in many cases, there is more chance of making money of horses on the way to the big meeting than here is at it. Unless of course you you have stolen a big AP price about a would be good thing. That’s a different ball game and you can then lay them until the fogs come home.I do have other bets on horses I think are on the way up but draw a line I don’t cross. I don’t have a large bet until I am totally convinced or ave heard a horse is capable of winning in very good company. When I am, I try and steal early prices in their stepping stone races on the way to the top grade. If you know something or even think something, nothing is more certain than some others know or are thinking the same as you are.
I never back on the all weather, evening meetings of any descrption,. Stewards seem to go blind after 5pm
I have a betting box as I call it. The idea s to have small bets as an interest and keep an eye out for something outstanding. It needs refilled more often than not but it is only play money and serves it’s purpose.
Handicaps: I try to find a decent horse who will go on the ground and has a decent racing weight. I always back small and EW and get on early if I know the horse definitely runs.
Value. I look for horses who are clearly the best horse in the race but not favourite. Often horse from Nicky Hendersons, Paul Nichols or Alan Kings are false favourites. Not a fool proof way of picking a winner but passes the time while waiting for the more obvious bets.
Steeplechases only, of which the majority are mundane midweek handicaps
Prefer single-figure fields
Prefer to analyse no more than two races a day
Exchanges only, save for the increasingly rare days on course
Win singles only
No laying
No trading-out
No in-running
Compile a 95% tissue and bet the…ahem…value
Frequently bet two or more in a race
Level stakes on all bets
Rarely bet at less than 2/1
All races approached with the same resolve and all bets of equal importance, be it Hexham or CheltenhamIrregularly, without restrictions on selection or pattern. My next bets will be on Cheltenham, as the track conditions have been rubbish recently, and i’ve picked a few fallers. I don’t have a set ammount to bet on any horse, although i’d be inclined to bet more if i’d had a win. Oh, and i’ve stopped betting on horses i can’t see clips of, so alot of times i don’t bother betting when i’ve intended to.
My betting is going through a transitional phase, so I don’t want to say too much about it.
I am a small punter, which is why I like to look for big odds.
I also find it easier to study and understand handicaps than other races. The handicap gives me a line to measure the horses by.
I think the most difficult race to bet in is a 7f Listed race. You’ve got horses coming up from 6f, and dropping down from 1m and 9 furlongs. You’ve got horses dropping down after being stuffed in Group races. You’ve got horses coming up from handicaps. You’ve got lightly raced 3yos, or 4yos that have been injured, running after winning a maiden race and perhaps a Class B or Class C Conditions race. The disparate formlines are too much for me.
At the moment, I am fairly addicted to ante-post, as I only started betting again on the 28th November, and have mainly been using betfair since that time. Whenever I back a winner, I go on an ante-post shopping spree. I also go on an ante-post shopping-spree when I get my monthly wages.
Come the Flat season, I will predominately be betting in 0-80 or above h’caps, upto to 1m, plus the really, really good 1m2f ones.
I’ll also be betting more on 2yos than before, as I will devise an angle in the next 5 weeks.
I’ll also give maiden races a go.
I also like doing forecasts and tricasts, because it is my belief that if you analysed the race correctly to pick the winner, you’ve got an increased chance of picking the second as well.
I will be betting fairly heavy and vigorously in April and May, because I know from past experience that is when I do best.
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